Spain Viaje - July 2014

From Plaza Espana the two Venetian towers start the way to Montjuic fountains where we were the night before.

Selfie on the bus!

...and another...

Simple modern steel sculpture against a more ornate building in the background.

One of Escher's works, sorry my iPhone camera not fast enough to capture clearer photo on the bus.

Having more selfie fun!

Wavy steel sculpture at Port Vell. Port Vell is a waterfront harbor with hotels, restaurants, entertainment which I think stretches all the way to Barceloneta Beach, see jutting on the left the W hotel from beach photo the other day. See the tram above the sculpture, you can take that all the way to Montjuic mountain. Must be nice viewing of the city.

Selfie near location of restaurant we ate the previous day.

One of the entrances to the Gothic Quarter of town.

Eyeballs(?) on that building.

Where we ate the previous night.

Relaxing and enjoying last snack and cocktails on the rooftop pool bar of our hotel.

Refreshing cocktail!

Some old guy and his wife from New Jersey sits next to us and asks us how to get his phone working in Spain...we find out his type of phone(CDMA) doesn't work in Europe. LOL.

Panoramic view of city from the rooftop terrace.

A little video clip from the rooftop pool/bar.

Ok, got back on the train to the Barcelo Sants train station where we take our high speed train back to Madrid and from Madrid to Seville. Long travel evening.

The taxis stands at the Barcelo Sants train station. Barcelona has black and yellow, the Madrid taxis are white with red stripe and the Seville taxi's are white with yellow stripe...and yes, they have Mc Donalds everywhere...

Lindsey half asleep on the high speed train from Madrid to Seville;-)

Selfie on the AVE train to Seville that evening as the scenery speeds by...

Our AVE train is travelling roughly 170 miles per hour and the temperature outside is roughly 99 degrees Fahrenheit at almost 8:30 at night.

This was a nice AVE train going to Seville from Madrid with leather seats and woodgrain. Should get there around 10:30pm.

Our hotel in the center of Seville(capital of Andalusia region of Spain in the south, whereas Barcelona is in the Catalonia region in the northeast of Spain), very charming hotel in the historic part of town. A few minutes walk to the cathedral.

Wow! Rooftop view of the lit up Cathedral of Seville from our hotel.

Of course, a selfie must.

On our walk down the stairs of the hotel.

The central atrium area.

The lobby below.

Again in Spain everyone is out late at night for dinner. Very safe walking around. Just around the corner from our hotel.

Vino Tinto for Avi and Tinto de Verano(translates to Red wine of summer...similar to Sangria) for me and Linds. Tinto de Verano is basically red wine and lemon-lime soda(like sprite or 7-up). Nice refreshing on a summer night.

Oooh camarones(shrimp) in olive oil. Yum!

Scrambled egg dish with green and red bell peppers, also yummy!

El Gato negro!

The looming Seville Cathedral, another UNESCO World Heritage site, all lit up at night. This is the 3rd largest cathedral in Europe/British Isles. The largest is St Peters in Rome and 2nd St. Paul in London.

Selfie time!

Avi and Linds posing with the cathedral, a prime example of Gothic and Baroque architecture.

Torre del Oro(English: Gold tower) of Seville. Built in the early 13th century by the Almohad(Muslim) dynasty to control access to Seville through
Guadalquivir River.

Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, the oldest bullring in the world. You haven't made it as a toreador until you fought a bull here.

Across the Guadalquivir River is the Triana district and we will cross the Puente de Triana(Triana Bridge) shortly.

The Triana bridge was built in the mid 1800's similarly designed as the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, France. It connects Seville to Triana district across the Guadalquivir river.

We walked across the bridge! A beautiful cool evening!

Triana is known for their ceramics and tiles and flamenco! Olé! Here on the Triana side of the bridge is a small Moorish Revival Chapel with beautifully tiled dome.